Chapter 56: An Expensive Gift

  After being rushed outside of the armory, they were ushered

  into the carriages with blindfolds again. After about 10 minutes, they found themselves

  back at the banquet hall, where the King and his ministers quickly bade

  farewell, stating that they needed to prepare against a potential enemy attack.

  Jia Yuan and Dou Di also called for a carriage back to the

  tournament grounds.

  Inside the carriage, Jia Yuan sat in a daze, as he had sent

  his soul into his ring to examine the black sword. From the outside, it looked

  as if he was sleeping.

  However, inside the ring, his soul quivered with excitement.

  The more he examined this sword, the more pleased with it he was.

  Not only was it compatible with the four elements, but it was

  considerably more durable than HiRyu. In fact, Jia Yuan was convinced that a

  single stroke of this sword would be able to chop HiRyu in half!

  A treasure!

  A long while after, Jia Yuan finally drew his soul out of

  ring and back into his body. He then turned to face his brother.

  “Hey, Dou Di, your weapon isn’t that great, right?”

  “Hm? Yeah, it’s just the standard one that they give all of

  the army soldiers.”

  Jia Yuan picked up the sword he had brought out of the royal

  armory and placed it in front of Dou Di. “Here, big brother. This is my gift to

  you.”

  “EHHHH???” Dou Di’s face was one of pure shock. He knew that

  JIa Yuan was rich… but willing to give such a treasure away?

  “Just take it. I already have a great sword in Hiryu, so

  there’s no sense in me having two great swords while you’re stuck with such a

  bad one.”

  “Well, I’ll take it then.” Dou Di couldn’t get any words of

  thanks out of his mouth, but Jia Yuan understood his older brother’s feelings

  anyway.

  As for Dou Di, he had the feeling that his younger brother

  was growing faster and faster in comparison…which made him both happy and sad

  at the same time.

  Happy for his brother, but sad because he was being

  outclassed so heavily… it is hard to be self-confident in such a scenario.

  Seeing this, Jia Yuan quickly understood what Dou Di was

  feeling.

  “It’s okay, big brother. I may be stronger than you now, but

  you will forever be smarter than me. With your mind, you could rule a Kingdom.

  I am only fit to be a soldier, but you are capable of far more!”

  Hearing Jia Yuan’s words, Dou Di smiled ruefully. “Ha, who

  needs such words from someone like you? I was just thinking about how to thank you

  for the sword and you get sentimental on me. Hmph, don’t get cocky. You might

  be stronger than me for now but don’t underestimate your big bro!”

  Jia Yuan smiled and the two brother swapped jokes until they

  arrived back at the tournament grounds.

  They went back into the hotel room, and slept for the night.

  The next day came, and along with it, came the next round of

  the tournament.

  From now on, the stadium would have 100 small stages in the

  center, with 1 vs 1 combat on each one. A combatant was allowed to lose twice

  before being kicked out of the competition. The last 1000 remaining would be

  accepted into the Burning Legion!

  Given that there were only 8 thousand competitors left, 1 in

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  8 would be able to join the Fire Kingdom’s special force. All of the

  competitors felt so close to their goal that they could nearly taste success…

  but the truth was that over 70% of them would fail to see this goal come to

  fruition.

  Jia Yuan and Dou DI were walking toward the stadium along

  with the rest of the fighters. However, as the two young brothers walked, they

  found themselves being surrounded by more and more people.

  Many of the competitors had found out by now, that Jia Yuan

  had been one of the 8 invited to HouShen Palace. Once another competitor

  recognized him, more and more began to cluster around the two brothers.

  They wanted to see two things. They wanted to see, with

  their own eyes, someone worthy of being invited to the royal palace. The second

  thing they wanted to see, was the weapon from the royal armory.

  However, when they looked to the sword by Jia Yuan’s side,

  they saw a sword that was clearly of high quality, but didn’t exactly wow any

  of the competitors there.

  That was when they noticed the sword that hung by Dou Di’s

  side.

  “Hey, wait. That other guy’s sword looks so deadly! Could it

  be…”

  “Wait, could that Jia Yuan kid have given the weapon he got

  from the royal armory to the person beside him?! What is their connection??”

  None of them guessed that the two were brothers. Jia Yuan

  and Dou DI weren’t blood brothers after all, and didn’t look too alike.

  Many of the surrounding competitors began to have greedy

  thoughts. Perhaps in single combat, they wouldn’t be able to beat Jia Yuan… but

  this person beside him clearly wasn’t one of those who had been invited to

  HouShen Palace. He didn’t even look that strong, and was even dressed in a

  guard’s uniform.

  A guard? A Burning Legion candidate from the Army? Some of

  the stronger participants in the tournament began to hope that they would be

  matched up against this person who had been gifted royal weapon.

  If they could kill him, they could loot his weapon! In one

  fell swoop, they would be one step closer to being accepted to the Burning

  Legion and they would also gain a peerless weapon! It would be perfect!

  But how could Jia Yuan and Dou Di be so oblivious? They

  quickly noticed the change in the gazes directed at them.

  Jia Yuan whispered to his brother. “Dou Di, you should be

  careful today… don’t burden me with the job of finding vengeance for you.”

  “Hmph. Do you really think your big bro is that weak? With this

  weapon, even you might not be a match for me.”

  What Dou Di said was true for most of the competitors

  present. Not only did a weapon provide a cutting edge and increased lethal

  range, but weapons made out of elemental stones, such as HiRyu as well as Dou

  Di’s new royal weapon, were also able to aid a martial cultivator with their

  fighting aura and strength!

  For example, Jia Yuan was more than capable of releasing

  large and deadly flames on his own, but with HiRyu, his flames could extend an

  additional 20 meters, and it was also easier for him to control said flames.

  The importance of the quality of a cultivator’s weapon, was

  inferior only to the importance of their cultivation!